I don’t like being pigeonholed as a reviewer of exclusively expensive audio components—because I’m not, as anyone who regularly peruses Analog Planet knows. So, to ease the pain of reviewing the half-million-dollar Air Force Zero turntable—you’ll find that review on p.53 of this issue—I figured I’d cover some more reasonably priced analog gear here in Analog Corner.
Plus, I need to do some spring cleaning and tidy up a few loose reviewing ends: Only products reviewed in Stereophile qualify for the Recommended Components list, so when I review something at Analog Planet that I think should be on that list, I need to cover it here, too.
Take, for instance, QHW Audio’s The Vinyl MM/MC phono preamp. (QHW stands for “Quality Hi-Fi Works.”) See my full review at Analog Planet.1 This exceptionally fine-sounding phono preamplifier currently sells for just $786.96 including shipping to America, from Spain, where it’s designed and manufactured by Francisco Vizcaya Lopez, a music professor, concert performer, and composer with engineering skill sufficient to allow him to design this exceptionally fine-sounding phono preamp and several other hi-fi products.
When I reviewed it last April, the cost was even lower, at $644.83. The price fluctuates because Mr. Vizcaya Lopez pegs the price to currency fluctuations—exchange rates—instead of building in a price cushion. It’s a more consumer-friendly approach.
This story is from the September 2021 edition of Stereophile.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2021 edition of Stereophile.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AURAL ROBERT
Another \"outlaw\" country artist
Nina Simone: Wild Is the Wind
By all accounts, Eunice Kathleen Waymon, aka Nina Simone, who passed in 2003, was a troubled person and a brilliant artist. Why she was not more acclaimed during her lifetime is a question several recent film projects have tried to answer. Did her fierce stand on civil rights lose her fans?
Vintage hi-fi, old and new
Many audiophiles and serious music lovers are passionate about vintage. Vintage has become a popular \"way in\" to the hobby, especially popular among younger folks.
Tekton Moab Be
LOUDSPEAKER
ARCAM Radia A25
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Wharfedale Heritage Series 90th Anniversary Dovedale
LOUDSPEAKER
Technics Grand Class SL-1200/1210GR2
RECORD PLAYER
Thrax Audio Siren
Based in Bulgaria, European audio company Thrax has been active since 2009.
EMM Labs MTRS
STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
SPIN DOCTOR
Alternative phono cartridge technologies and the DS Audio DS-W3 optical cartridge system